


Double Tap

by tygermine



Category: Bandom, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gen, Zombies, amateur philosophy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-15
Updated: 2011-07-15
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tygermine/pseuds/tygermine





	Double Tap

It’s not like they planned to get stuck in an underground lab filled with undead experiments. It just kind of happened.   
They had heard about animal testing going on near Las Vegas and trekked out to the underground lab. It was deserted which should have been their first clue that things were not right.

“Frank, I don’t think these were the animals you had in mind,” said Ray, wrestling off the receptionist.

“People are animals too,” Frank replied, shooting the head off one of the lab techs.

Mikey and Gerard were shooting their way towards the back of the office, where a sign politely told them that the labs were downstairs and protective clothing had to be worn.

“Guys, stop playing around!” Mikey shouted.   
Ray and Frank shrugged before shooting off a few more heads as they moved towards the brothers.   
Using his Vend-o-hack, Mikey disarmed the door and slid through, pulling Gerard with him. Ray was right behind with Frank taking up the back, rapidly firing off rounds. Ray pulled him through and barred the door behind them.

The hallway was dark except for the occasional flickering light, strobing on and off. The floor was littered with bits of clothing, limbs and blood.

“Man, this place stinks,” Frank said, pulling his handkerchief over his mouth and nose.

“You know, if you think about it, they never fully explain the stench in movies.” Ray said, kicking a stray hand out of the way.

“I’m never complaining about you guys not showering ever again,” Frank answered, slightly muffled by the handkerchief.

“Thanks Frank,” said Gerard, sarcasm dripping from the words.

They reached the end of the corridor, a large steel door barring the rest of the way. Gerard grabbed the crowbar from his backpack and with Ray’s help, began to wedge the door open.

“This is the part where the zombies usually spill out of the door and kill us all,” Mikey threw in, nudging a lung to one side.

“I think we can safely say, we’re proving every movie we’ve ever watched wrong,” grunted Ray as he and Gerard finally got the door open a few inches. Frank helped push the door the rest of the way. They all peered around the edge. Not a sound came from inside.   
Gerard held his finger to his lips and they nodded in understanding. Slipping through the door, guns at the ready, they filed inside. The corridor was lined with glass fronted holding cells, all empty and brightly lit. The glass was clean.

Frank tapped Gerard on the shoulder. “I don’t think anyone came this way,” he whispered.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Gerard replied. At the end of the corridor was a glass door that opened into a huge lab. It was deserted, but with none of the damage from the other rooms. Bunsen burners were still lit beneath beakers of bubbling liquid. Mikey turned them off as they passed.

“Ray, locate the gas bottles,” instructed Gerard. “Get them out to the car.”   
Ray nodded and split off from the group towards a door in the corner. They heard him open the door and disconnect the gas bottles, putting them aside carefully.

“I’ll go with,” said Mikey. “He’ll need back up.”   
Gerard nodded before gesturing to Frank to follow him. At the back of the lab, was a huge window. Looking out, they saw a labyrinth below them made up of cages.   
Frank nudged Gerard who nodded. They both saw the movement, down below in the cages. People or more accurately, zombies, were moving amongst the cages, pushing against the plexiglass.

“Do you think the animals have been turned too?” Frank asked.

“Can’t tell. Those cages are plexiglass. Doubt the zombies could get in.”

“But what if the animals started the whole thing? Like in Outbreak with that damn monkey.”   
Frank shivered at the memory.

Gerard checked the battery on his lazer gun and the ammo for his shot gun before hefting it onto his shoulder. “Let’s go find out,” he said, smiling.   
Frank nodded and they jimmied open the door that led to a ramp going over the labyrinth. They quietly crept along the walkway, watching the zombies below bang against the enclosures, trying to get at the meat inside.   
Above the centre of the room, the boys lay flat on the platform, aiming over the edge and scoping the room. There were no doors leading in or out of the area below, a large crane overhead and a rickety staircase at the far end, the bottom half collapsed on the floor.

“Highest score wins” said Frank with a smile and began picking off zombies with clean shots to the head. Gerard rolled his eyes and began shooting from the other side of the platform. The zombies didn’t seem to know what had hit them. Decapitated bodies fell to the ground, littering the walkways, causing bottle necks that made the poaching easier.   
The groans and screams began to die down until there was nothing but the sound of two boys breathing heavily. Frank stood up and chuckled.

“43,” he said, holstering his lazer gun.

“45,” replied Gerard. “Pay up,” he held out his hand and Frank grumbled as he handed over his last box of smokes. Gerard pocketed it with glee.

They slowly made their way to the staircase at the end, Gerard keeping an eye on the ground below through his scope lens. The boys climbed down carefully, dropping the last six feet to the ground. In the far corner stood a control unit for the crane. Frank ran up to it trying to see if he could get it to work. Gerard picked his way over the pile of corpses and checked the holding cages. The animals were pressing themselves into corners, terrified. Baboons, dogs, cats, bunnies and even a few potbelly pigs. None of them seemed harmed, but the case files and labels were torn off and shredded.   
A corpse nearby stirred and Gerard quickly double tapped the head.

“46,” he shouted at Frank.

“Fuck off,” replied Frank. “A-ha!” he suddenly cried and the crane above them came to life. “Let’s get these kids out of here.”

“Frank…” The crane arm lowered until it was hovering above a cage with a large African baboon in it. “Frank!” Gerard shouted. “Hold up!”

“What?” Frank shouted, running towards Gerard. “What’s the problem?”

“I just had an idea, but we’re gonna need some help,” he couldn’t help but smirk.

“No, “ said Frank. “I’m not going to let Gabe help us.”

“I was thinking Travis, but hey, where one goes…” Gerard said, lighting one of his prize cigarettes.

“So goes the other,” finished Frank. “Fuck.”

When they got back up to the lab, Ray was leaning against a counter cleaning the blood splatter off his gun. Mikey was behind the computer, typing away. He swiveled in his chair as Gerard and Frank walked into the room.

“We have a problem,” he said.

“We have lots of problems,” Frank answered, swiping a smoke from Gerard. “Care to elaborate?”

“I’ve been checking the records and we can’t release these animals. They’re toxic.” Mikey pointed to the screen where a DNA strand was rotating, atoms lighting up like Christmas lights. “Looks like they were trying to make something that would give people immunity to certain diseases like AIDs and cancer, but it backfired.”

“Made them immune to death,” Gerard said softly.

“If we release these animals, we don’t know what will happen. They could attack survivors, genetically alter plant life and generally fuck up the planet.” Mikey finished.

“The bombs did that already,” Ray shrugged.

“No, guys, we could start a disaster worse than Resident Evil,” Mikey sighed.

“What do you think we should do?” Frank asked turning to Gerard, who had moved to the window to look at the carnage below.

“Why didn’t they self destruct the place? I mean, zombie infection isn’t that fast. There must have been some kind of protocol. Why didn’t they lock the doors? How many escaped into the zones? Something isn’t right. The alarm didn’t go off.” Gerard spoke quietly, mostly to himself, but the others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Maybe they ran out of time? Or humans?” Frank said, “Maybe the virus spread faster than we think. Maybe dozens are out in the zones. Maybe this place isn’t rigged for self destruct.”

Ray snorted at the idea. “I’m sorry, but have you forgotten the last five labs we went to? Self destruct is standard with these places.”

“Something else happened here and the zombies came after,” Mikey said. He was back to browsing through the computer files. “We need to find the other office.”

“What other office?” Frank asked.

“The head of development. He has a computer with emails. That should hold some information.”

“I hate it when you’re logical,” Frank grouched then threw his shotgun against his shoulder. “Lead the way, Kobra Kid.”

Mikey rolled his eyes at the nickname and pulled up the blueprints. “Ok, we’re going four floors down.” He printed it out and led the boys out of the lab.

 

**  
There were no emergency stairways and the boys had to wedge open a set of elevator doors and climb down the shaft.

“This,” wheezed Frank, “has to be one” wheeze “of the worst ideas” wheeze “ever.”

“At least it’s zombie free,” reasoned Mikey, carefully climbing down the metal ladder set against the shaft wall.

“For now,” griped Frank. “I bet when we open the doors by the office, it’ll be teeming.”

“Then make sure your guns are fully charged,” said Gerard in a voice that said shut the fuck up and get a move on.   
They reached the doors in no time and held their breaths as Ray leaned against the metal closure.

“I don’t hear anything,” he said and fitted the crowbar in the groove. With a grunt, he wedged the doors open and placed his bag in the gap. He then helped Gerard, Frank and Mikey climb through the gap. They pulled him through and jammed the doors open with a nearby ashtray. Frank itched for a smoke.

“Do you hear that?” Gerard asked suddenly.   
They all cocked their heads.

“Music,” said Mikey. “Probably through the intercom system.” With a shrug, he led the group down a surprisingly clean corridor and then after a few turns stopped in front of a wooden door.   
Ray smiled and kicked the door in.   
Someone screamed.

 

**  
Four lazer guns were pointed at a young woman cowering behind a large, mahogany desk. She hadn’t stopped screaming.

Frank rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Ok, you can stop screaming, we’re not gonna kill you.” He didn’t lower his weapon.   
Stepping around the desk, he took hold of her arm and hauled her to her feet. She had swallowed her screams and decided to whimper instead.

“Who are you?” asked Gerard, eyes narrowed.   
She shook her head. Mikey sighed and walked around the desk, sinking into the ergonomic chair and began hacking into the computer.

“Y..you.. you can’t do that,” she hiccupped.

“Why not? What are you hiding?” Gerard asked, gun still at the ready.

“That’s intellectual property of Better Life Industries, you aren’t authorized to see anything on there,” she pointed out.

“I’d like to point out that our guns give us all access clearance,” Ray said, waving his to prove the point.   
Frank pulled her away from the desk and gently pushed her into a black leather couch that was standing in the corner of the office. Gerard knelt in front of her.

“Who are you?” he asked again. “What happened here?”

She eyed them wearily before sighing in resignation. “I’m Jenny. I’m the head of development here.”

“What were you developing?”

“I can’t say,” she said. “I’m bound by contractual obligation. Confidentiality clauses. They could destroy me if they found out I said anything.”   
Gerard huffed in annoyance.

“We don’t need her to say a thing,” Mikey spoke up. “I’m in the system.”

“How did you get in? The firewalls are state of the art!” Jenny said, astonished.

“Meet my friend Kobra Kid,” said Frank “He’s got mad skills and loose morals.”   
Gerard and Ray rolled their eyes at him.

“Can you at least tell us how the zombie virus started?” Gerard asked.

“I don’t know. I was running through next week’s deadlines when suddenly everything went really quiet. Then the screaming started. I locked my door and hid.” Jenny was shaking, chewing on her expensive manicure.

Mikey suddenly turned to face her across the desk. “You knew this could happen. They warned you.”   
Jenny shook her head.   
“Don’t lie. It’s right here. They told you that it wasn’t working and you said, and I quote, get it working or we’ll shut the project down, unquote.” Mikey was glaring at her.

“Kobra Kid,” said Gerard, “What wasn’t working?”

Mikey printed out the emails and the reports and handed them to Gerard. With a nod, the boys left, taking Jenny with them. they climbed back up to the lab and carefully made their way back to reception. Mikey slid in behind the control panel and set the self destruct sequence. The boys were a mile away when the lab blew up spectacularly.

“We couldn’t save them,” said Gerard.

“I know,” Frank bit out. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be mad about it.” He chain smoked Gerard’s cigarettes for the rest of the journey.

“You do realize you’ve fucked up,” began Jenny in a bossy voice. “You’re going to get caught and imprisoned for life. You’re terrorists, living out this comic book fantasy life. Don’t you understand how many lives you ruin with every facility you destroy?”

Ray turned around in the passenger seat and glared at her. “Do you know how many lives your Better Life industries have destroyed. They’ve redefined fascist capitalism. They’ve built a police state and taken away freedom of choice. We fight for that freedom. We destroy your facilities because you develop new ways to trap people in this delusion you’ve built. Life isn’t better, its worse. There’s no music, no books, no art. We’re at the same precipice people stood at before the second world war broke out. Think about it, Jenny, you’re a purveyor of doom through your destructive science. I can’t believe you became head of development by being naïve enough not to realize that all your inventions and potions and tests are only approved if they have military applications. Applications they use on their own people!” Ray, was by now, red in the face and shouting.

Frank sucked on a cigarette. “I say we kill her.”

“We’re not killing anyone Frank. Then we’re no better than them,” Gerard gunned the engine and sped down the road.

 

**   
They dropped Jenny about two miles from the nearest Zone Patrol, not risking going any closer than that. She glared at them before stalking off down the road. The sun was beginning to set and the air was starting to finally cool down.   
They camped out in an old abandoned mine, the entrance hidden by towering red cliffs on either side. The shaft entrance was big enough to drive the car deep into the caverns.   
Ray unloaded the gas bottles while Frank got started on building a small fire. Gerard and Mikey sat at an old, rickety worktable going through the reports and emails with a fine-tooth comb.   
Instead of the usual banter, the cavern was filled with tense silence, only broken by the crack of the firewood.   
Frank was obviously steaming about being unable to save the animals, Gerard was concentrating on the reports, trying to find as much information as possible. Mikey was playing with the rosary that belonged to Alicia and Ray had popped the hood on the car, intent on finding out exactly what was making that annoying rattling sound.

“I don’t like this,” Mikey said from the table.

“Camping in mines?” asked Frank, setting up an old cast iron pot above the fire.

“That too. I mean these reports. The virus wasn’t just being manufactured in the Vegas lab. Says here they had labs all over working on the same thing. Super immunizations for super bugs. They were going to roll them out in the food supply.” He went a little green.  
Frank kicked the pot off the fire, his appetite destroyed by the news. Gerard could see another Frank lecture coming on. He went and stood next to his friend.

“We’ll find every fucking lab out there and destroy this thing before it gets out, ok?”

“Don’t fucking patronize me, Gee. There are hundreds of labs, most of them hidden, unrecorded. How the hell can the four of us stop this? How many people are gonna end up zombified before it stops?” He patted down his jacket, looking of a box of smokes. Gerard pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to Frank. He shook a cigarette out, lit it and inhaled deeply.

“I don’t know,” said Gerard into the silence, “But we need to do something.”  
The shortwave radio burst to life with a rush of static.

“Killjoys. Status update.”

Mikey grabbed the handset. “This is Kobra Kid. Status is one lab destroyed. But we suspect toxin has escaped into the environment.”

“Fuck!” spat the radio. There were a few moments of silence before the radio spoke again. “How bad?”

“Zombies,” replied Mikey.

“Time to see the doctor, Killjoys.” With that, the radio went dead.

Ray swore at the car.

 

**  
Dr. Death Defying was the voice of the resistance, the lynchpin of the rebels and a badass dj with a weakness for David Bowie. He traveled around the zones, his old VW camper weighed down with albums and broadcast equipment.   
This week, he had found a diner that had been abandoned since the 1970’s.   
He set up his broadcast box, plugged in the turntable and microphone and began to talk.  
His chat with the Killjoys last night had left him worried. He should have seen it coming. First the bombs, then the nuclear winter, and then the police state taking power. Zombies were inevitable, really. He itched with the need to speak to the boys as soon as possible, but who knew how far out they were.  
Dr. Death Defying finished his broadcast of anti-establishment sentiments and put on FTWWW by Missile Kid. One of his favourite albums to come out of the desert.  
He went back to pondering zombies.

 

**  
The Killjoys met up with Show Pony at the letter drop, a box based on an ancient form of sending letters when sailors would leave letters under rocks, the address carved into the stone asking other travelers, should they be going in the right direction, to please deliver the note.  
The letter drop also served as the resistance network info booth. Coded co-ordinates were left by Show Pony for others to find the Doctor. He was just about to finish tacking up the note when the Killjoys Trans Am pulled up next to him.  
Show Pony leaned against the car, dust swirling around them like a mini hurricane.

“Killjoys,” Show Pony purred. “Been a long time. Good job on that Vegas thing.”

“Thanks,” said Gerard, almost beaming.  
Mikey rolled his eyes at Frank, who smirked back at him.

“Where’s Dr. Death Defying hanging out these days?” Gerard asked.

“Not far,” said Show Pony. “There’s a diner about 25 miles thatta way,” he pointed west. “He’s in the kitchen there.”

“Want a ride?” offered Mikey, sounding bored.

“Nope, I’m on delivery duty. Heading out towards Portland. Got any mail heading that way?”

“In roller skates?” asked Ray, eyes wide.

“No, doofus. These are for local runs. Got my motorbike back at the old trailer.” Show Pony smiled widely.

“Portland? Why that far up?” asked Frank.

“Got some noise on the wire. Resistance cells setting something up there. Doc wants me to check it out,” his chest couldn’t inflate more than it already was.  
Gerard suddenly wanted to go with Show Pony. If there were resistance cells in Portland, it meant that maybe, just maybe, the girls could be alive. The plan was for them to head into Canada, where BL.ind. hadn’t yet set up shop. That was two years ago and not a word had been heard, but Gerard couldn’t kill the flare of hope in his chest.  
He pulled out a battered envelope from the glove compartment and handed it to Show Pony.

“This needs to get to Zoid.” He said.  
Show Pony nodded, suddenly serious and pocketed the envelope. They parted ways with the Killjoys sending up a cloud of dust as they headed west towards the old diner.

 

**  
The diner was a sorry sight to behold. Beaten by the desert weather and stubbornly squatting under the sun, the diner refused to give in to the corrosive winds and termites.  
The boys parked the car under the deserted gas station roof and ran inside. The musty smell was thick and coated the back of their throats. They all automatically lit up cigarettes to chase away the smell, ray guns at the ready.  
A voice boomed from the kitchen.

“Get your asses back here,” Dr. Death Defying yelled.   
The killjoys shrugged, smiles wide and headed to where their friend had set up temporary camp. Stepping over cables that led out to the generator, crates of albums and a few tumble weeds, the boys entered the kitchen.  
Dr. Death Defying twirled around on his chair and stared the boys down, which was quite a feat, seeing as how they towered over him, especially Ray.  
Mikey and Frank hopped onto a nearby counter. Gerard leaned against the fridge door and Ray stayed in the doorway, keeping watch.

“What can of worms did you fuckers open?” Dr. Death Defying asked, his tone not happy.

“Super drugs for super bugs. Only with zombie side effects,” said Gerard, arms crossed.

“Think you stopped it from spreading?” he asked.

Mikey shrugged. “We’re not sure how many employees escaped before we got there, or how many other labs are producing the same thing.”

“They’re planning to put it in the food,” added Frank.

“We’re going to need back up on this,” said Dr. Death Defying, turning to his microphone. “Listen up zoners, time to share your story. Tell me about your zone.” He turned a record over and played the B side.

The short wave radio cackled. “Dr D, it’s T-Man,” came the voice over the static.

“T-Man, I’m sending the Killjoys your way. Be prepared.”

Frank huffed. “You can’t be serious. Travis can only do so much, but Gabe will fuck it all up.”

“Gabe is busy putting together a cult. He’s too busy to meddle with Travis’ duties.” Dr. Death Defying shut him down. “They’re still in Death Valley.”

“And the reports?” Gerard asked.

“I’ll state the town and play Astro Zombies, to confirm sightings. Best I can do. That mook Korse is breathing down my neck again. Missed him by five minutes last week. He’s becoming creative and I don’t like it when bureaucrats get creative. Remember, keep your asses hidden and off the grid.”

With that, Dr. Death Defying turned back to his microphone, dismissing the Killjoys.  
The boys exchanged a look and left.

 

**  
“Why is the idea of Gabe starting a cult not so unbelievable?” asked Ray later that night as they headed towards Death Valley.

The boys laughed, cos yeah, Gabe as a cult leader seemed the perfect natural progression of their friend.   
They took turns driving through the night, stopping only twice to fill up at hidden caches left by the resistance.  
They kept to the valleys and canyons of the Californian desert, trying to avoid satellite detection.  
By sunrise they approached the compound run by Travis.

 

**  
The old mining caves in the Sierra desert made the perfect place to hide from the new regime. Tunnels linked large caverns and an underground lake provided enough water to support the ever growing number of refugees and rebels that found their way there.  
Travis and Gabe had stumbled upon the labyrinth when the bombs first dropped. They were just looking for a place to hide from the aftermath. It had in time become their home and default headquarters for the resistance.

Travis saw the dust cloud on the horizon and knew something was wrong. The Killjoys only risked coming to the compound if things were really bad. If Frank had pneumonia again, or if they found new resistance fighters, or the time when they carried in Bob’s broken body, unable to deal with the reality that Korse had won that round. That Korse had killed their friend.

Travis sent a silent prayer out hoping that it wasn’t another Killjoy they had to bury. He met the boys as they drove into the entrance tunnel, the fake Keep Out/Caution barrier falling back into place behind them. Mikey was the first one out of the car, quickly followed by Frank and Ray, all greeting Travis with bear hugs and slaps on the back. Gerard dawdled in the car, getting out last. He looked exhausted and felt far too skinny when Travis gave him a hug.

“Let’s go,” Travis said, leading them through the tunnels until they opened up in a central cavern buzzing with activity. A few old faces waved hello, but no one stopped them as they continued through towards more tunnels that branched deeper into the mountain. They finally ended up in a smaller cavern, sparsely furnished with an old army cot, a few upturned crates and a table made from an old wooden door. The boys claimed a crate to sit on while Travis perched on the cot.

“Dr D didn’t say much on his broadcast. Wanna tell me what’s up?” Travis finally asked.

The Killjoys exchanged glances. Gerard cleared his throat. “Zombies.”

Travis could feel his eyes bug out. “I would say you’re kidding, but somehow I believe you.”

“Fucking BL.Ind and their bullshit animal testing,” spat Frank and filled Travis in on what they had seen and discussed with Dr. Death Defying.  
Travis was pale beneath his colourful tattoos by the time Frank was done. He lit a cigarette and bit on his thumb, taking it all in.

“Well, shit,” he concluded.

“Yep,” agreed Ray.

“You got a plan?” he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, but it’s stupid and suicidal,” grouched Frank. “We can’t track down every lab before it gets out.”

“It may have already escaped into the countryside,” said Gerard.

“In that case…” An idea began to form in Travis’ mind. It was brutal, unrealistic and cruel. “What do we know about this virus that got out?”

Mikey looked uneasy. “It makes you immune to pretty much anything, except decapitation. But we don’t know how to cure it.”

“How do you cure a cure?” Ray asked philosophically.

“You don’t.” said Travis. “You let it run its course.”

The Killjoys stared at him before Gerard spluttered out “You can’t be serious!”  
Before he could get into a hearty diatribe about the sanctity of human life, the door burst open.

“I heard a rumour and look, it’s true!” Gabe stood in the doorway, jeans hanging off too thin hips and t-shirt, old and faded. He also wore a really big smile. He pulled Mikey into a bear hug before shaking hands with the rest of the boys.  
“So,” he said, sitting down next to Travis, “What’s the deal?”

“Zombies,” said Travis.

“And your fucking boyfriend just suggested we do nothing!” Frank spat out.

“What can we do Frank?” asked Travis. “This isn’t a fucking movie. There isn’t a cure. There are thousands of people infected. We need to make a plan that will work. This isn’t the time for ethics.”

“Or humanity,” grouched Frank.

Ray leaned forward. “I see where you’re going Travis and I have to agree, but what if it doesn’t have an end? This needs long term thinking.”

Gerard suddenly stood up and left the room, following the tunnels until he smelled fresh air and desert sand. The tunnel opened up onto a small ledge high above the ground. He sat down carefully, rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head.  
Things weren’t supposed to become this big, this bad. It was always them against Korse. And they kept the fight between them, kept Korse away from the ones that couldn’t fight.  
But this time, they broke the rules. BL. Ind fucked up royally and on a scale that Gerard didn’t want to imagine. America is a fucking big country. They’re restricted to a single state within that country. There was only so much they could do and they were losing.

“Don’t you just sometimes wish you could get into your car and fuck off to South America or something?”  
Gabe sank down next to Gerard and lit two cigarettes, handing one over.

“That’s plan B,” joked Gerard.

“As long as it’s still an option,” Gabe smiled. “You know, back in the day, I read something somewhere about heroes. You can’t be all hero, you have to be a monster too.”

Gerard nodded. “Yeah, I know this part. Heroes have to make decisions for the greater good, blah blah blah.”

“And heroes can’t afford to be humane,” Gabe said around a stream of smoke.

“But that’s what we’re fighting for, isn’t it? Humanity, people?”

“In fighting, you lose your own humanity. It makes you a better hero.”  
Gerard went quiet at that. He squinted at the horizon, silently daring Korse and his dracs to see him and catch him.

“I’m not a hero, Gabe. None of us are. We’re just trying to fight for our lives, like we knew them, you know? We can’t make decisions on whether people get to live or die. We’re not gods.”

“Gerard, sometimes you’re so fucking naïve I just want to hug you tight and say oh, honey repeatedly,” Gabe smirked. “What you guys do is heroic. And yeah, you’ve already lost some of your humanity in fighting the man. Now, you need to choose the greater good over a few people.”

“I kind of hate you right now,” Gerard muttered.  
Gabe laughed like the asshole he is and went back inside, humming ‘I Need a Hero’.

 

**  
Gerard stayed on the ledge watching the sunset and feeling the cold air descend around him. When they had first picked up their ray-guns and climbed into the Trans Am, it had been out of necessity. They were on a mission to find their families. Easy, right? Somewhere along the way, lines got blurred and now they were Battery City’s most wanted, fighting a huge corporation, miles from the ones they loved. Somewhere along the way, they became heroes and somewhere, Gerard forgot what they were actually fighting for.

 

**  
Travis, Ray and Frank were sitting around a large table in the central cavern, heads bent over old maps. Tin mugs sat at their wrists, an inch of whiskey in each.  
Gerard walked over to the table and slammed his fists onto the surface, making the mugs tremor.

“We search and rescue,” he said. “If there are any people out there not infected, we find them and take them somewhere safe. We are not losing an entire country to a fucking zombie infestation.”  
At this point, Travis wanted to point out that those who could be saved have already found safe hiding places and that Dr D was spreading the word. But the look on Gerard’s face told him to shut up.  
“We destroy every fucking lab we find. We work our way across the country. We have not lost our humanity and we’re not about to start.” With that, Gerard stalked off.  
The boys exchanged glances.

“I knew the desert fried his brains,” Travis chuckled. “Ok, let’s pray this plan isn’t a fuck up.”

“Hang on just a second. I’d like to be the voice of reason right now. Where exactly are we gonna take the uninfected and how are we gonna feed them? This place isn’t big enough. And Korse has eyes in the sky. He can track our every move!” Frank drained his whiskey. “It’s a fucking lost cause.”  
Travis and Ray nodded in agreement.

 

**  
Our intrepid Killjoys were not the nicest people to get along with for days afterwards. Gerard was on his righteous high horse, giving diatribes on how they needed to save humanity from themselves and how saving the survivors was their purpose in life. The rest of the boys ignored him, of course, while Gabe tried to use Gerard to recruit people into the Cobra. Frank raged and stomped around the complex, chain smoking their dwindling supplies and trying to ignore the gut feeling telling him they were on a suicide mission.  
Mikey had set up a make shift lab with the help of Disashi and was trying to decipher the notes they had taken from the Vegas lab, hoping there was a cure.  
Ray tinkered with the Trans Am, resolute in the knowledge that whatever they do, it was for the greater good and if it meant dying, then he was cool with that.

 

**  
Two weeks later, the Killjoys hit the road. Judging by Dr D’s broadcasts, the zombies had gravitated towards Battery City, leaving the desert wide open.

“Well, let’s hope they keep Korse off our ass,” said Frank.

“Where’s the first pick up?” asked Gerard, glancing in the rear view mirror.

Ray examined the map. “About 50 miles east, past zone 12. Says about 12 people to rescue.”

Gerard nodded and floored the gas, the Trans Am surging forward. Behind them came Disashi and Gabe, driving an old tour bus that they’d fixed up to suit desert driving.

Their ingenious plan was this: The Killjoys ride into the settlement, scout out the dangers and then, if it’s safe, signal the bus to come into town to collect the survivors. They’d do this until the bus was full. The bus would then trek out to the abandoned labyrinth of mines two states over. They would zig zag their way across the states working their way east.  
Things were going smoothly until they hit a pocket of zombies just outside of Houston. Well, pocket might be an understatement.

“You’re sure Dr D said there were survivors in Houston?” shouted Gerard over the wailing as they stood behind the Trans Am, firing rounds at the approaching zombies.

“Yeah,” shouted Mikey as he double tapped what used to be a sales woman. “They’re holed up in the library. Downtown.”

“Get in the car!” ordered Gerard, sliding behind the wheel. Gunning the engine, he drove through the zombies, splattering blood and internal organs in their wake.

“This is total bullshit!” shouted Frank, firing shots out the window. “No one said anything about Houston being full of zombies!”

“Makes sense, seeing as how this was one of the bigger lab sites,” shrugged Mikey.

Frank rolled his eyes. “And that piece of trivia wasn’t worth mentioning earlier?”

“Cool it Frank!” snapped Gerard, swerving violently around a brick shithouse of a zombie and down a side street. “Which way to the library?”

“Keep going, third right,” answered Mikey, calmly firing off a shot at a zombie mime. “No one deserves mime,” he muttered.

 

**  
They reached the library about five minutes later and screeched to a halt by the back door. Making sure there were no zombies around, they left the car and quietly entered the building, shooting off the locks.  
The library was hot and stuffy, and eerily quiet. They crept through the lower floors, moving further towards the centre.

“Hello?” called Frank. “Any humans around?”

“Killjoys,” Korse stepped out from around a bookcase, ray-gun at the ready. Dracs surrounded them, appearing from nowhere.

“Fuck,” spat Gerard, his ray-gun pointed at Korse.

The boys formed a circle, each facing outwards, all angles covered. The dracs leered, looming towards our heroes.  
This is it, thought Gerard. This is where we die.

“You make my life interesting, chasing you around the desert. But all good things must come to an end.” Korse smirked.

“You sent that message, didn’t you?” said Ray.

“Your methods are childish and amateur. Of course I’d crack it and lure you in. I’m impressed you survived the zomb-“

Gerard cut him off with a laser to the chest.

All hell broke loose.

The Killjoys ducked and ran, pushing past Korse and heading towards the stacks.  
The dracs were hot on their trail, knocking over bookshelves as they went. The Killjoys regrouped in a quiet corner, breathing heavily.

“Fucking Korse,” swore Frank, checking his ray-gun. “We’re running low, Gee.”  
Gerard nodded. He pointed to the top of the shelves. The boys nodded and began climbing. They lay flat against the wood, looking down at the maze of the stacks.

“Top score wins,” whispered Gerard with a wry smile.  
The dracs came teeming through the stacks, dropping as the Killjoys picked them off one by one. Suddenly Mikey fell to the ground. Gerard screamed and leapt off the shelf to crouch next to his brother. The other two joined the brothers, back to back, firing off rounds at approaching dracs.  
Books rained down on the boys from behind. Korse pushed his way through the mess, shooting Ray and then Frank. Gerard stood to face him.

“Fuck you,” sneered Gerard. “You’ll never win.”

Korse shot him between the eyes.

The End


End file.
